There's Another Mayor Who Believes He Suffered Chris Christie's Wrath

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D) isn't the only Democratic
municipal official who thinks he got burned for not endorsing
Gov. Chris Christie (R) for re-election.

Last summer, staff in Christie's office and at the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey canceled several meetings with Jersey
City Mayor Steve Fulop (D) and refused to reschedule them,
according to emails and texts reviewed by the
Wall Street Journal.

The meeting cancellations came shortly after Fulop declined to
endorse Christie for re-election.

"Mayor Fulop believed the cancellations were connected to
his decision not to endorse Governor Christie," Fulop's
spokeswoman told the Journal.

Emails and text messages related to the Bridgegate scandal show
Christie's then-deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Kelly and Port
Authority appointee David Wildstein talking about Fulop and
Sokolich in similar terms.

On Sept. 9, the first day of the Bridgegate-related traffic jams,
Kelly asked Wildstein if the Port Authority was returning
Sokolich's urgent phone calls. "Radio silence," replied
Wildstein. "His name comes right after Mayor Fulop."

Fulop was elected on May 14 of
last year and receive congratulatory messages from Christie's
staff, including Kelly. Christie even attended Fulop's
inauguration in July.

The documents reviewed by the Journal reveal that Kelly and
Fulop's staff had arranged meetings on July 23 between the
mayor, heads of the Department of Community Affairs,
the state Economic Development Authority, the Office of Recovery
and Rebuilding, the state Department of Transportation, and Port
Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni.

On July 18, Fulop was informed that four of the
commissioners had cancelled their meetings due to "scheduling
conflicts." No other explanation was given. The following
day, Baroni cancelled. The last commissioner cancelled on July
22.

Fulop then sent follow-up emails to Baroni in August
requesting a meeting, but Baroni did not respond.

Fulop says he informed Christie's staff that he would not
be endorsing him before July 18.

"The emails that were requested speak for themselves. Our
administration has sought to operate in a professional and
cooperative manner with the Christie Administration," Mr. Fulop
said in a statement according to the Journal.